What can cause Damage to your Ears?

Most people neglect taking care of their ears; this can over time lead to hearing loss and permanent hearing damage. In this article, we look at some of the significant ways in which we damage our ears on a regular basis.

Q-tips

Have you ever had your parents ask you to clean your ears with a Q-tip or cotton bud; well they might have triggered the downfall of your hearing in the long run. As a kid, you’re always conditioned to use either one to clean your ears, and over the years it starts to become a habit. Experts warn that regular usage of the Q-tip can lead to perforating the eardrum. If the eardrum gets damaged, then you’re in for a lot of pain and reduced hearing.

Pharmaceuticals

There are certain medications that are ototoxic in nature. Ototoxic refers to products that can cause hearing loss. The onset of ototoxic effects is always very sudden; the first symptoms that you will encounter are vertigo and tinnitus. Most cases of ototoxic effects are not permanent, and the hearing loss that you encounter recedes once the person stops taking the medication. There are cases where ototoxic medication has led to the permanent loss of hearing.

Smoking

When people talk about smoking, they talk about heart diseases and lung problems, but smoking can result in the impairment of hearing. Nicotine which is one of the primary components of cigarettes is an ototoxic substance. A recent study revealed that a staggering 70% of smokers were found highly likely to develop hearing loss accompanied by damage to the inner ear. You should start being careful as soon as you start experiencing tinnitus.

Earwax

As we mentioned earlier, people tend to dig out the earwax from their ears. But this is not a recommended method of cleaning your ears. Experts suggest the use of ear drops that can loosen the wax in the ear; in most cases, the wax should fall off. But if the wax hasn’t come out, then visit your doctor who can them employ ear-irrigation method to clean your ears. The method is much safer than using Q-tips.

Headphones

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve seen people walk into oncoming traffic while using their headphones? Well, the occurrence is attributed to hearing loss which was developed as a direct effect of using headphones. The World Health organization pits headphones as the single biggest preventable cause of hearing loss. Experts conclude that music is loud as soon as you start becoming unaware of the environment that you’re surrounded in. They go on to say that if you’re using your headphones at 60% volume, then you should only be using headphones for 60 minutes in a day. While if you’re using your headphones at 100% volume, then the allowed duration of usage is only 5 minutes per day. So the next time you’re blasting music through your headphones, be aware of the consequences of it.